One of the reasons I got into journalism is because no day is ever the same. Each day brings a new – and potentially interesting – assignment.
However, the job isn’t all glamour and glory. City council meetings, groundbreaking ceremonies and press conferences need coverage just as rock concerts, sporting events and bikini competitions need reporting.
So far my time working in Fiji hasn’t been an exception to the craft’s steadfast rule: there have been some great assignments and there have been some mind-numbing ones.
For example, I just got back from a special opening of the European Film Festival. The evening was reserved for invited guests, but I happen to have a friend working at the European Commission who told me media is welcome to attend. I invite my travel companion Hart along for the night. He is instantly sold after hearing there will be appetizers and an open bar.
Working as a journalist in Canada, I never eat food at events, but that rule didn’t seem to make the 18-hour flight with me to Fiji, so I proceed to eat not one, but three plates of appetizers. However, I never drink while working – leaving Hart to do the drinking for two.
However, the job isn’t all glamour and glory. City council meetings, groundbreaking ceremonies and press conferences need coverage just as rock concerts, sporting events and bikini competitions need reporting.
So far my time working in Fiji hasn’t been an exception to the craft’s steadfast rule: there have been some great assignments and there have been some mind-numbing ones.
For example, I just got back from a special opening of the European Film Festival. The evening was reserved for invited guests, but I happen to have a friend working at the European Commission who told me media is welcome to attend. I invite my travel companion Hart along for the night. He is instantly sold after hearing there will be appetizers and an open bar.
Working as a journalist in Canada, I never eat food at events, but that rule didn’t seem to make the 18-hour flight with me to Fiji, so I proceed to eat not one, but three plates of appetizers. However, I never drink while working – leaving Hart to do the drinking for two.
While Hart double-fists Fiji Golds, I take notes. 
After watching the French film Le Couperet, meeting the French Ambassador, and of course, eating some more food, I call it a good night and head home to write my story. While typing, I think to myself that I have the best job in the world.
But then there are the other days.
My neighbour, who is a grad student at the University of the South Pacific, sends me a press release and invitation to an information and communication technology symposium.
Why be bored alone?
“Want to go to this thing with me tonight?” I ask Hart.
“Why would I want to go to it after you’ve been complaining all day about having to go?” Hart replies.
Good point. I grab my bag and head out solo.
After a two-hour lecture on computer science, math and statistics – broken up for a fifteen-minute break where chips and tang are served – I go home exhausted.
The next day I schedule an interview with a professor who organized the symposium. I ask some follow-up questions and dig for an interesting angle. The professor is an Australian in his 60s, who talks about information systems with unparalleled passion. The man is clearly proud of what he’s doing at the university. Now if I could just transfer his enthusiasm into my story I’ll be set. Feeling inspired, I go home and start writing. In the end, I come up with a decent 250-word story.
Contrary to what people may think, I appreciate every story I cover. Although it’s fun to cover film festivals and interview pagent contestants, reporting on a topic that I know nothing about – like computer science – is a challenging and educational experience. Each story I write comes with a new opportunity. Sometimes I gain knowledge in a new domain; I meet an interesting individual; or I’m inspired by a person’s actions. Other times, I remember why I love, and always will love, my job.
After watching the French film Le Couperet, meeting the French Ambassador, and of course, eating some more food, I call it a good night and head home to write my story. While typing, I think to myself that I have the best job in the world.
But then there are the other days.
My neighbour, who is a grad student at the University of the South Pacific, sends me a press release and invitation to an information and communication technology symposium.
Why be bored alone?
“Want to go to this thing with me tonight?” I ask Hart.
“Why would I want to go to it after you’ve been complaining all day about having to go?” Hart replies.
Good point. I grab my bag and head out solo.
After a two-hour lecture on computer science, math and statistics – broken up for a fifteen-minute break where chips and tang are served – I go home exhausted.
The next day I schedule an interview with a professor who organized the symposium. I ask some follow-up questions and dig for an interesting angle. The professor is an Australian in his 60s, who talks about information systems with unparalleled passion. The man is clearly proud of what he’s doing at the university. Now if I could just transfer his enthusiasm into my story I’ll be set. Feeling inspired, I go home and start writing. In the end, I come up with a decent 250-word story.
Contrary to what people may think, I appreciate every story I cover. Although it’s fun to cover film festivals and interview pagent contestants, reporting on a topic that I know nothing about – like computer science – is a challenging and educational experience. Each story I write comes with a new opportunity. Sometimes I gain knowledge in a new domain; I meet an interesting individual; or I’m inspired by a person’s actions. Other times, I remember why I love, and always will love, my job.
Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring.
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